Gilgandra

travel end

It started as a simple idea to drive to Gilgandra ... to see how it was going ... I loved my youthful time there ... June, had said, come Monday ... she had a cousin from Tasmania, Katrina, plus a friend, VJ, arriving, for a short visit ... but also ... I remembered I had heard Ken Anderson had moved to Goulburn, and Ken Lucas lived in Canberra ... could I combine it all? And add in Inverell?? And Brunswick Heads??? The trip was on ...

Driving around the country gave me a good feeling ... of course, the recent extended drought had broken only months earlier, so I was seeing the new growth, given by rain, at the right time ... as I travelled through ... but wait ... Where is Gilgandra?

Gilgandra is just north of Dubbo, which is north west from Sydney ... you can see Windsor, in the bottom right ... thanks to the http://www.ubd.com.au site for the map ... saved me doing some extra scanning ... ;=))

On arrival, Sunday afternoon, the Gilgandra Information Centre ... a great asset to the visitor ... provided me a map of the town ... of course, having lived there from about 14 to 17 years old, I 'knew' the town, but having a map really helps ... the helpful lady pointed out two of my 'addresses-of-interest' ... (Mrs) June Curran, my High School English and History teacher, and (Mrs) Isabelle Lucas, Ken's mother ... the site is http://www.gilgandra.nsw.gov.au/ ...

A wonderful mini class reunion was arrange by Pam Ward, with June ... attended by Margaret Peart (ne Chandler), Chris Neilson, and Gloria Drabsch, in Gilgandra's Chinese restaurant ... a great evening ...

From left: Margaret, Chris, Pam, me, June, Gloria ... viva la Gilgandra ...

The main street, is still the main street, although I heard, that it might be re-located above the flood plane ... but then someone asked, will it actually flood again, anyway ... but here is the bank building I remember, down, and up the street ...

And the old house, where mum and dad lived ... is still there ... and looking active ... I saw some big rigs parked out front over the weekend ...

Headed out to Bearbong, I passed the cemetery ... it looked well kept, and cared for ... and found my parents plaque ...

On to the property ... also see the bearbong road ... some shot inside a woolshed ... my Dad and I spent some nights here ... I learned how to make quite a 'special' mashed potato under his tutelage ... the old engine that drove the belt, to drive the shears ... all now replaced with electricity ... the odd safety consciousness of painting the steps white ... the woolshed looks so small, standing there in the distance ... then onto the old Bidden hall ... I attended a few dances there ... and a farm, next door, with some horses interested in my picture taking ... to finally, inside the Gilgandra Museum ... looks exactly like the same D9 I 'rode' ... and the old party line telephone ...

Here is a very interesting image ... seen in masses in Gulargambone ...

To see a few big mobs of galas take to the air ... the accompanying screeching ... is something to behold ... this an innovating representation in corrugated iron ;=))

From here I took the scenic route to the Warrumbungle Mountains ... on my way to Inverell ... this is a view taken from a lookout ...

Unfortunately, my half-brother was up north, visiting his some, so did not meet him ... spoke to Janet Kiesling (ne McLane) on the phone ... visited a cousin(?), Neville Hedley ... next day, moved on the Brunswick Heads ... where I lived during my first teaching assignment, in nearby Mullumbimby ...

Was struck by this LARGE FISH SIGN, all about fish SIZES ... 

A sight I had every morning as I drove from Brunswick Heads to Mullumbimby ... Mount Chincogan? ... if you look back while out at sea ... at the right angle you can detect the slope of the tops of each of the 'plugs', and imagine the size of the original volcanoes ...

On the way down the coast, I found this dog 'event' ...

A quiet 'bird' scene ...

A Pelican ...

Trip Outline : August, 2005

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